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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27027961">The downsides of being a hero</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousandstrangerthingsworld/pseuds/miraculousandstrangerthingsworld'>miraculousandstrangerthingsworld</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien dies, Angst, Darker than Noir, Even darker than darker than Noir, F/M, I'm so sorry, Major character death - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Please join the server if interested, angsty Ladynoir, but not really</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:08:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27027961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousandstrangerthingsworld/pseuds/miraculousandstrangerthingsworld</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“NO, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT! WE’LL GET YOU TO THE HOSPITAL, THEY’LL SAVE YOU! IN NO TIME, YOU’LL BE WALKING JUST LIKE BEFORE WITHOUT PROBLEMS! YOU’LL BE FLIRTING ME AND TRYING TO GET MY ATTENTION AGAIN!” She wished she would’ve believed her own words at the moment. </p><p>............................................................................</p><p>“Ladybug…...I…...love……….you……….a-and t-tell……...M-Marinette……...t-that……” He hadn’t managed to finish his sentence before his heart stopped from the blood loss. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Plagg &amp; Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>October 2020 - Dark</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The downsides of being a hero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you so much <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krisbeecream/pseuds/Krisbeecream">Krisbeecream"</a> and<br/><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquamarinarchive/pseuds/Aquamarinarchive">Aquamarinarchive</a> for beta reading my fanfiction. You really saved my butt. </p><p>This fanfiction is very angsty, so read at your own discretion. If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to drop it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So Adrien, what do you think about Marinette? Isn’t she cute and perfect?” Plagg asked his holder while blinking innocently.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, she’s awesome, but she’s just a friend” </p><p> </p><p>‘She’s just a friend’ Plagg thought mockingly. The kwami was very tired of this expression, and it took him a lot to hold back his anger.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Marinette, are you sure you’re over Adrien?” Tikki knew it was annoying for the girl to hear the same question over and over again, but she wanted Marinette to be happy, and she would’ve done anything for her holder’s happiness.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m one hundred percent sure I’m over him. All these pictures are just for my designs.”</p><p> </p><p>The little creature was about to say that you don’t just hold inspirational pictures under your bed, but she gritted her teeth and didn’t say anything for the sake of silence.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Plagg, we need to do something about them. I can’t just watch them suffering like this. How can you be so indifferent about this?” Tikki said desperately, while the immortal creature put the slice of cheese in his mouth. Tikki simply rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I am not indifferent about anything. I just want the kid to smile, but you know very well how oblivious he is. It’s not like we can set them on a date and they’ll suddenly get together.”</p><p> </p><p>The red creature opened her eyes wide at the realization.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, we can. Plagg, you’re a genius!” She said, amazed, and wrapped her small arms around his cat-like body. </p><p> </p><p>“We can?” he said, surprised</p><p> </p><p>“Look, this is what we’re going to do,” she whispered in his feline ears the plan, then she looked at him with a small grin.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Adrien found a note on his desk as he arrived at school. He slowly opened it, finding handwriting that looked pretty similar to his friend’s, only messier.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dear Adrien, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Meet me at parc today at 3 pm. I need to talk to you about my feelings. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Marinette </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He was shocked to see the message of the note but folded it quietly.</p><p>It happened just the same to Marinette, except her reaction only showed sadness, because she knew it wasn’t going to end up very well. She had a feeling in her gut that something unpleasant was going to happen.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>When they were both at the meeting place, neither of them dared to say anything. Marinette just looked down at her hands that were sitting there on her lap.</p><p> </p><p>“Adrien,”</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette,’</p><p> </p><p>Both of them called each other at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>“Ladies first,” Adrien said politely while rubbing his left arm and trying to smile nervously.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanted to ask you, what did you mean on the note when you said you wanted to talk about your feelings?” The model blinked rapidly.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, what note are you talking about? I didn’t send you any note. You are the one who invited me to come here to talk about how you feel about me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>He got the note out of his bag and gave it to her; she did the same thing. They quickly unfolded the papers and read the sentences written on them.</p><p> </p><p>“No way, I never wrote this, and besides, if you were a good friend, you would’ve already known my handwriting is nothing like this”  She said as anger filled her eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, the bakers’ daughter realized who had set up the date, and she gritted her teeth in annoyance.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you accusing me of being a bad friend? I tried almost everything to make you stop running away from me, yet you always do!” Adrien felt his emotions bubbling up. “You never want to talk to me about your life or how you feel. When I read the note, I thought you would finally open up to me! I wanted to be able to support you like you always do to everyone, but you seem to just refuse it every single time!”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean, Adrien?” Marinette said, confused but angry</p><p> </p><p>He clenched his fists.</p><p> </p><p>“You are always here when I need help, or anyone else does. You always help others, and I look up to you. I thought I could be like you, awesome in so many ways. Every single time you walk by me I admire everything in you.”</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t lying. Whenever she was standing in front of him, his heart always went crazy, making him nervous. He loved the way her hair flew in the wind, the way her bluebell eyes would check on everything around her. He loved the way her lips parted when she was about to say something, the way her small waist moved around when she was walking. Adrien adored her small, genuine smile and her gentle touch when she brushed her skin against his, making him feel an electrical connection. He loved every single part of her, but his love for Ladybug blinded him, making him think that it was all just friendly admiration. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, Adrien, I had no idea. No one’s ever tried to make that big of a connection with me”.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re wrong,” Adrien said while biting his lip.</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re wrong.” He was holding his hands together. “Everyone is trying to help you, you’re just too selfless to see.”</p><p> </p><p>The bakers’ daughter was about to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to; everything he had said was true. Saving Paris took her a lot of time and energy, and she didn’t get anything back for that. But for her it was enough, seeing safe smiles on their faces couldn’t make her happier. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, they heard many terrifying screams. They knew what was happening immediately, it was another Akumatized victim. The heroes rushed into different hiding places to transform into their alter egos. Hawkmoth knew that if he didn’t start to use more dangerous villains, he would keep losing every single time.</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived at the scene; neither of them seemed happy about the Akuma’s power. It could get blades from the ground, which was a great danger to the citizens and heroes. </p><p> </p><p>The truth was that lately, the heroes had been dealing with more dangerous villains every battle, some of them with deadly powers. A lot of times they made it out barely alive during battles. All these fights were only happening in Paris, which was supposed to be the city of love. Except for the fact that now, it was mostly the city of terror and fear. Love was lost there, it was the last thing that mattered, and the first thing in people’s minds being how to protect themselves from death. The only two people who didn’t fear it were the amazing Ladybug and Chat Noir. Their biggest worry was protecting the people they cared about. Their brains seemed to work the same way in the last three months: the biggest goal being to protect the world and each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Ladybug, Chat Noir, you two and that blonde spoiled brat are doomed. She dared to insult my aiming skills, and the two of you are just a pair of fake heroes who pretend to be saving the world when they could easily just give their Miraculouses to Hawkmoth and end this terror once for all. You two are selfish; you only think about yourselves!” The akumatized victim shouted at them with no shame.</p><p> </p><p>Neither of them seemed to listen to the speech, knowing it was all just Hawkmoth. The teenagers knew why they shouldn’t give their jewelry to the villain. All actions have consequences, and the equilibrium in the universe would be destroyed if a wish was made by the man. </p><p> </p><p>“I am Bladenizer and I am going to take your Miraculouses and give them to their rightful owner.”</p><p> </p><p>The villain threw some blades at a mother with her child in her arms, but ladybug caught her quickly with her yoyo before she got stabbed. The teen heroine got a small scratch from throwing herself there. </p><p> </p><p>The black cat split his baton in a half and threw the pieces at Bladenizer, who dodged them like a pro.</p><p> </p><p>“W-what are you?” Chat Noir asked with a terrified look on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“I am an ex-Miraculous holder. I know every single way Miraculouses work, including the fact that you are only teenagers who detransform after using their powers. I know martial arts and my muscles are built up for any fight, so be ready to lose, so-called ‘heroes’” the Akumatized victim’s eyes gave a small glow and then he put a grin on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Many blades came from the ground and one of them went through Ladybug’s hand, breaking some of her bones painfully. The spotted hero hissed in pain while the black cat watched in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“LADYBUG!” he yelled with his full voice, hurting his throat, yet he didn’t care. All he wanted was his lady to be safe, but she got hurt because he couldn’t protect her. </p><p> </p><p>“Stay back Chat and keep fighting! I’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>She ran to a woman nearby who was waving a piece of material, offering it to Ladybug so that she could stop the bleeding.</p><p> </p><p>It all seemed pointless. They both continued dodging and telling everyone to stay far away from the fight. Luckily, people actually listened to them and didn’t get into the impossible scuffle. </p><p> </p><p>“I thought you two were useless, but I never thought you would be that easy to defeat. Guess the Guardian is the same as he used to be, terrible at making decisions.”</p><p> </p><p>As he finished his small speech, he made several towering blades appear from the ground. They were nearly mountain-sized, so there was no way the heroes could climb them. It was all over for both of them,, and they knew it. There was no way they could get out of it alive, unless the villain took pity on them. </p><p> </p><p>Then, unexpectedly, a blade came through Chat Noir’s chest, shattering one of his lungs completely, with the other and his heart being barely touched. Blood was pouring from the wound, making the poor boy unable to move. He screamed in pain, even though he knew it was fruitless. </p><p> </p><p>Ladybug simply froze; she wasn’t able to say anything or move, as if some unnatural force was holding her from doing so. But it was all in her head, everything was just in her head, right? She was actually dreaming, Chat noir didn’t actually get stabbed, right?</p><p> </p><p>But it was all true. When the realization hit her, the heroine simply rushed to the black cat, hoping that he would be able to survive with her by his side. He took her hand and put on his heart, but she dodged his gentle grip lightly, calling for the lucky charm that she hoped would help her. </p><p> </p><p>Into her hands dropped a full syringe of a magical sleep serum.</p><p> </p><p>“L-ladybug…... p-please s-stay with m-me,” The boy in the leather catsuit asked the teenage girl who couldn’t refuse his face full of love and hope. </p><p> </p><p>The ravenette took the green-eyed boy in her hands so that he could be in a comfortable position. She parted her lips, about to say something, but he put his index finger on them.</p><p> </p><p>“Shhh, my lady, if necessary, w-we’ll meet in t-the af-afterlife” he took her hand in his rubbing it gently with his thumb. At this point, they were barely three centimeters apart. The blonde could smell the weak, yet pleasant scent of strawberry shampoo coming off of her. He then coughed up a spatter of blood.</p><p> </p><p>“NO, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT! WE’LL GET YOU TO THE HOSPITAL, THEY’LL SAVE YOU! IN NO TIME, YOU’LL BE WALKING JUST LIKE BEFORE WITHOUT PROBLEMS! YOU’LL BE FLIRTING ME AND TRYING TO GET MY ATTENTION AGAIN!” She wished she would’ve believed her own words at the moment. </p><p> </p><p>He let go of her hand and cupped her cheek. Every second their faces were closer to each other until he finally, gently, pressed his lips on hers. She could clearly feel a billion butterflies in her stomach. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to his body, pressing it against his own. She pulled away, but not from anger or disappointment in her partner, but grief. That’s when she realized that she had always loved him, from the beginning, but, being too blinded by Adrien’s perfection, she wasn’t able to see that.</p><p> </p><p>“Ladybug…...I…...love……….you……….a-and t-tell……...M-Marinette……...t-that……” He hadn’t managed to finish his sentence before his heart stopped from the blood loss. </p><p> </p><p>“Tell Marinette what? C-Chat Noir. Chat Noir! CHAT NOIIIIIR!” Ladybug screamed in emotional agony for her breathless partner. She hoped he would wake up and flirt with her again. Except he didn't. He couldn’t. He was dead.</p><p> </p><p>“No, y-you’ll pay for that. You heard me? YOU’LL FUCKING PAY FOR THAAAT!” The teenager yelled from her weak throat. She left the black cat’s lifeless body and rushed to the villain, injecting him with the serum the lucky charm gave her. The Akumatized victim fell instantly asleep and Ladybug took the bracelet and broke it. She purified the Akuma that transformed into a white, innocent butterfly.</p><p> </p><p>“Miraculous Ladybug!” Millions of small butterflies flew all around Paris repairing the damage made by the Akuma. After the process was finished, she quickly ran to her friend’s body, hoping he would be healed. Checking his pulse, she slowly fell down on her knees, a crushing weight falling on her heart and a realization coming to her mind: The miraculous couldn’t bring people back from the dead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you very much for reading. </p><p>I hope you liked it.</p><p>And if you did, please don't forget to join the Miraculous Fanworks discord server <a href="https://discord.gg/mlfanworks">here</a>. It's a perfect place for everybody: writers, readers, artists and cosplayers. Feel free to join right now. </p><p>We're waiting for you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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